Several labor rights groups yesterday protested a draft amendment to the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) and demanded the reinstatement of seven national holidays, while Premier William Lai (賴清德) reiterated that labor rights would be protected by the changes.
The groups rallied in front of the Executive Yuan in Taipei and urged the government to reinstate the seven national holidays that were abolished by the last labor amendment that was passed in December last year, while calling for the withdrawal of a new draft amendment that would ease restrictions on overtime.
The groups in September launched an online petition asking the government to reinstate the holidays and Minister Without Portfolio Audrey Tang (唐鳳) on Oct. 25 convened a meeting with petitioners, but the Cabinet has taken no action since, protesters said.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
While the new draft amendment was proposed to address flaws in the “one fixed day off and one flexible rest day” workweek, the Cabinet should first deal with the holidays, labor rights advocate Chen Ming-chen (陳姳臻) said.
Protesters also threw balloons filled with red paint into the Executive Yuan compound to criticize the proposal’s potential degradation of working conditions by easing requirements on leave and overtime rules, which they said would increase pressure on workers.
Lai said workers would be granted protections under the amendment, which would guarantee the four basic working rights: an eight-hour workday, a 40-hour workweek, two days off per week and unchanged overtime rates.
“They are like four pillars that firmly uphold labor rights,” Lai said.
The draft amendment would also ensure four types of flexibility in terms of overtime, workday arrangements, shifts and annual leave, he said, adding that he would personally communicate with the public if necessary.
While he did not comment on the requested reinstatement of the holidays, Lai on Nov. 9 said that the government would not reinstate them, because the new amendment would make no changes to the 40-hour workweek.
Minister Without Portfolio Lin Wan-i (林萬億) said the increase in annual leave mandated by last year’s amendment has compensated for the cancelation of the seven holidays.
Meanwhile, Lai said he would meet with Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers tomorrow and Thursday in a bid to smooth the passage of the draft amendment and other major legislation, such as the tax reform package.
The absence of some DPP lawmakers from a legislative committee review of the draft amendment on Thursday last week — which allowed the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the New Power Party to stall the review, despite being a minority — has been interpreted as unspoken opposition to the draft amendment, and Lai’s meeting is understood as an attempt to persuade them.
Lai said he also asked KMT Legislator Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安), this week’s chair of the legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee, not to schedule a report of the Ministry of Labor for yesterday, as Minister of Labor Lin Mei-chu (林美珠) just underwent an operation.
Chiang still scheduled the report, but excused Lin from the meeting, Lai said.
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